Florida Senate votes down bill to privatize state prisons

In a sharp rebuke of its own leadership, the Florida Senate on Tuesday dramatically rejected the nation's largest prison privatization plan in a 19-21 vote.

The vote, the culmination of weeks of intense lobbying and personal tension in the 40-member chamber, put Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and his leadership team on the losing side, while a senator who had been stripped of his committee chairmanship during the bitter ordeal prevailed.

Although Haridopolos had removed Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, from his oversight role over the criminal justice budget panel, the Senate president said he did not try to pressure members into supporting the plan backed by Gov. Rick Scott to convert state prisons and other correctional centers in an 18-county region into a private operation.

Haridopolos, who had pushed the plan along with Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said he had advanced the controversial proposal as a means of "trying to save money in a very difficult budget year."

Turning over the prisons in the South Florida region, which includes Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, to private companies would have saved at least 7 percent of the $232 million annual operations budget for those prisons, according to the plan.

Now, the Senate will have to adjust its proposed $70 billion budget to remove those annual savings.

"Everyone knows the consequences of it," Haridopolos said. "We're going to have to find $16.5 million somewhere else."

The vote was a victory for Fasano, who called the proposal a "bailout" for the private prison companies.

He cited problems with the privatization of the county jail in his home county of Hernando, which he said resulted in $3 million in maintenance costs after the county reclaimed the operation from the contractor.

While questioning the potential savings from turning 19,000 prison beds over to private operators, Fasano underscored the impact on the 3,800 state correctional officers who would be impacted by the move. He warned that many would lose their jobs while others could be re-employed by the private companies but at lower salaries with fewer benefits.

"There is no question that families will be affected. Communities will be affected. People will not have a job and the trickle-down effect will be enormous," he said.

Two Republican senators, who also happened to be former sheriffs who ran local jails, voted against the bill.

"Jailing for profit is not for the public good," said Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, the former Citrus County sheriff, who was joined by Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, the former Alachua County sheriff, in opposing the bill.

Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, questioned the state's renewed zeal in privatizing government operations, noting he had opposed similar efforts in recent years to turn the state Lottery and the Alligator Alley tollway over to private companies.

"Where does it end?" Jones asked.

Jones came to the defense of the correctional workers and other state employees, whom several senators noted had faced layoffs and had not had a pay raise in six years.

"What's wrong with state employees?" Jones said. "We should be taking care of them rather than kicking them under the bus."

In addition to Haridopolos, the prison plan had plenty of support among other Senate leaders, including Alexander, the budget chair; Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville; and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Destin, who will become the next Senate president in November.

Gaetz said the "burden lies heavy" on the senators who opposed the bill, while asking the state to spend more money on their districts or critical needs like child abuse or education.

He noted the additional $16.5 million in "guaranteed contractual savings" from the prison operators could pay for 330 child welfare workers or 278 more teachers.

While acknowledging the work of the correctional officers, Alexander said the privatization plan, in addition to providing savings, was a means of bringing "systemic change" to a 100,000-inmate prison system that has had management problems.

Giving private companies — which now operate seven state prisons — a greater role would provide the potential for improving the system, including focusing on rehabilitating inmates before they get out, Alexander said.

"I believe that providing for an alternative management structure will help give us an opportunity to do a better job of making more of these folks better citizens," Alexander said.

Earlier in the day, Scott voiced his support for the prison privatization plan. Some senators have argued that the governor, who is advancing plans to close some state prisons, has the authority to pursue a privatization plan on his own.

"This is an opportunity for the taxpayers of the state to save money," Scott said.

"The bill says if we don't save at least 7 percent, we don't do prison privatization. Why wouldn't we put ourselves in the position to save money to put into programs that we know we need to fund?"

The Senate vote effectively kills the issue for the current session, scheduled to end March 9.

Lawmakers approved a similar prison privatization plan last year, but the measure was struck down by a court that ruled the Legislature had improperly inserted the proposal into the annual state budget.

Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief.
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Last modified: February 14, 2012
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